It’s impossible for me to sneak around town unnoticed or to lose my car in a parking lot. Before August 2003, when raging forest fires terrorized the interior of British Columbia, my ’84 Chevy station wagon was a dull, rusty red winter beater. After the fires, Old Red had morphed into a unique, one-car statement against blandness, boredom and conformity.

On the day that the fires started in our area, I sat out in the yard watching huge dark clouds of smoke cover the sky to the west. Just the thought of a fire scared me, as I had lost everything I owned in a house fire years earlier. The sight of the flames and the smoke brought back painful memories.

In an effort to ease my increasing anxiety, I turned my attention to my car. It ran fine but looked drab and worn-out. The car really needed some paint; however, the value of Old Red certainly did not warrant the price of a professional paint job.

I thought back to the year I graduated from high school, 1967, the height of the “hippie” era. That summer I wanted to paint the family car with bright fluorescent flowers and peace signs, but my dad vetoed the idea. Thirty-six years later, I still wanted to paint a car psychedelically but had never done so. And I thought, “Why not?” I had an old car in need of paint; the time, energy and freedom to do as I pleased; most of all, I needed a project to distract me from the rapidly spreading fires.

It took a period of several weeks to get the painting done and by the time the fires had dwindled, my car had been transformed into artwork on wheels.

Each section of the car has a different symbolic meaning. The driver’s side is female; the passenger side, male. Each side shows attributes of the gender it represents: creative, nurturing, and reproductive on the female side; protective and providing on the male side.

Each side also has symbols representing the four aspects of human life: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. The hood is adorned with a stylized turtle representing Earth, and the rear hatchback features a prophetic commentary about our society’s prevalent attitudes towards the natural environment.

In short, the paint job tells a long symbolic story on the surfaces of my small wagon—and it’s a decorative way to stop the rust. The car also became much safer on the highway due to the fact that I used highly reflective safety paint, which makes it more visible even on dark, rainy nights.

Driving around in my “hippie car” is like being a parade of one. I get waves, honks, and thumbs-up wherever I go. Best of all are the smiles on the faces of the children and the elderly as I drive by. Old Red has become a mobile conversation piece. It’s a rare day that no one stops to chat with me about my car. I’ve met more new acquaintances since painting my car than in the entire previous decade. Teenagers say my car is “Sweeeet!” and when they stop to talk, I have the opportunity to point out that with a bit of imagination they too can express themselves and attract attention to a cause without endangering themselves or anyone else.

All it took to transform an old bucket of bolts into the talk of the town was a few cans of rust paint, a measure of creativity and the nerve to do something different. And, of course, a deaf ear to those who call me crazy!

Next, find out how Canadian artist Tom Forrestall used a 2013 Mercedes as his canvas.

If you were to ask anyone around the world to name one place in Nova Scotia, I am sure the prompt answer would be Peggy’s Cove.

Known worldwide for its iconic Peggy’s Point Lighthouse, its stark and rocky shores that seemingly lead you to the edge of the world, and its stunning beauty, Peggy’s Cove is a must-see or bucket-list stop for tourists arriving in Canada’s ocean playground.

Located approximately 50 kilometres from Halifax, which is the capital of the province, the tiny fishing village is home to less than 50 year-round residents. But on any given day in summer or fall, that population swells dramatically. All arrive by tour bus, bike or car to see that iconic lighthouse. With visitors scurrying atop the massive boulders, known as glacial erratics, it looks for all the world like a huge anthill!

It’s almost impossible to capture a view of the Peggy’s Point Lighthouse on a nice summer day without people in your viewfinder, either posing for selfies with the lighthouse in the background, or just standing there, taking in the dramatic seacoast and Nova Scotia’s rugged beauty.

Built in 1868, the original wooden lighthouse was replaced by the current structure in 1915. It is perched atop the rocky shores, where the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crash nonstop. The rocks below the lighthouse are known as the “black rocks,” as they are constantly awash with the powerful waves that have been known to sweep many an unsuspecting visitor into the cold waters of St. Margarets Bay. Some are lucky enough to be rescued but others are not. There are signs everywhere reminding people of the dangers: “Keep off the black rocks!”

The origin of the name of this picturesque little village has never been confirmed but there are several theories. The most common is that the village is likely named after Saint Margarets Bay (Peggy being the nickname for Margaret), which Samuel de Champlain named after his mother, Marguerite Le Roy.

On this day, knowing my chances of capturing an unspoiled view of the lighthouse were limited, I opted to snap pics from a different side. The tall marsh grasses blow gracefully in the salt breeze and frame the lighthouse, while the massive granite boulders are waiting for me to scale them, or sit for a moment and gaze in fascination at the relentless waves crashing against the shoreline.

A day at Peggy’s Cove is a day to surround yourself with the rugged beauty of the Nova Scotia coastline, its history and the smell of the salty north Atlantic Ocean. If you come—enjoy!

Adding Peggy’s Point Lighthouse to your bucket list? Round off your visit with these 10 essential experiences on Canada’s east coast.

Waterton Lakes National Park is where the Prairies of southern Alberta abruptly meet the Rocky Mountains. meet the Rocky Mountains. With its abundant wildflowers and wildlife, Waterton is one of my, and my partner Brian’s, favourite destinations to hike.

On a clear, crisp morning in late June, our selected hike of the day was to Bertha Lake along a multi-use trail shared by equestrians and hikers. It ’s a moderate day-hike up to a picturesque lake nestled in between Mount Richards and Mount Alderson, with rushing waterfalls and sweeping views of the Waterton townsite.

Our hiking style is not a quest for the summit—a four-hour hike will usually take us eight hours. We prefer a meditative walk among the trees, where we commune with nature, take in the crisp mountain air and appreciate all the small—or large—surprises that nature has in store for us.

After climbing a particularly steep grade, about one hour into the hike, I was already splayed out on the ground taking a macro photo of a wildflower. Next to me sat an older couple catching their breath on a well-placed bench, when movement down the trail caught our attention. At first glance, I assumed the dark figure coming up the trail was a horse; it soon came out of the shadows and what materialized was a bull moose!

Giving this bull moose some breathing room

The hiking trail was extremely narrow in this section, with a steep drop in elevation to the left of the moose and a rock wall on the bench side. The moose couldn’t turn around; he would have to back down the trail to make an escape. Not knowing what the terrain would be like on the trail ahead, we collectively made the decision to scale the rock wall, above the bench.

During all the commotion, the moose stood there calmly and appeared to be waiting for us to move. Then, he made his intentions clear by lowering his head and lifting his front hooves, in a piaffe-like motion (a stationary dressage movement that horses make). In a panic, Brian and I assisted the older couple up the wall. After they were safely positioned, we tucked up underneath them, all four of us now perched six to eight feet up.

As if on cue, the moose was now in motion and coming our way. With his head lowered, his demeanour was calm, cool and collected as his long, lanky legs clomped along the shale-covered trail. He tilted his antlers intermittently, looking up at us to ensure we were not posing a threat. Now directly beneath us, his pace picked up slightly, with his steps becoming more deliberate. From our perch, we all froze in place, being careful not to touch him. He appeared to be in good health with no scars or cuts. He had a thick, chocolate-brown undercoat protected by long, glossy black guard hairs. His horse-like frame stood approximately 17 hands tall (about six feet) at the withers: a gentle giant of the forest. We figured he was probably a two or three- year-old bull. We were lucky to spot him, but I had the wrong lens on my camera to capture a close-up photo!

Not in the clear yet!

As soon as the moose passed us and went around the bend, he once again was stopped in his tracks. Another group of hikers was heading directly towards him with bear bells clanging, unaware that they were on a collision course with a bull moose. Not wanting to startle the moose, we reluctantly began shouting at the other hikers to get their attention. They stopped upon seeing the moose, which was now trapped between us and them. We did not advance, and they backed up the trail to give the moose some space. The moose found a gentle slope off the trail and gave way to the hikers. He was passively grazing on tree branches as we continued up the mountain to enjoy our day.

Nearing the end of our day, when we were almost back at the trailhead, a park officer met us on his way up. Stopping, he said, “I hear some hikers had an encounter with a bull moose.“ We recounted the tense but trusting moment that four strangers shared, the gentle demeanour of the moose and how lucky we were, in so many ways, to have experienced it. We also added, “We never made it to Bertha Lake, but the moose might have!”

Next, check out 10 national parks every Canadian needs to visit.

We all know the feeling. An unexpected constriction in the throat. Heat rising to the face. Tears welling in the corner of our eyes.

We’re responding to “O Canada.”

Maybe we’re watching the Olympics, seeing our flag ascend to the rafters above a pool or velodrome. Maybe we’re in a high school auditorium before a holiday concert, listening to a student band. Or celebrating with people from all over the world as they navigate Canada’s anthem minutes after receiving their Canadian citizenship.

“O Canada” touches us when our sense of pride and place and identity connect, and it creates in us a patriotic reaction that can burst out unexpectedly, for no reason—or many.

We are not entirely sure what to make of our patriotism in a modern, ultra-connected, digitally expanded world. And it frightens us when we encounter it too baldly. We know from experience that the nationalism that follows patriotic pride can wrench some of the most destructive elements out of the human heart. Nationalism and civility, nationalism and peace, nationalism and reason, are frequently bitter enemies.

Yet there it is—that pride, love and joy in community that the anthem brings us.

The Origins of the Canadian National Anthem

“O Canada” has long been the song of our nation, working its steady way into the hearts and lungs of the population, although it did not become the official Canadian national anthem until 1980.

That’s not as unusual as you might think. “The Star-­Spangled Banner” didn’t get official status until 1931. “God Save the Queen” has never been proclaimed Great Britain’s national anthem. Because of their combination of emotion, politics, history and symbolism, anthems have long been subjects of controversy. And ours is no exception. Nearly a century and a half after “O Canada” first appeared in 1880, we’re still arguing about its appropriate English lyrics.

Where did Canada’s national anthem come from, this piece of music that affects us so? And who is the person who put our country’s essence into song?

Who Composed the Canadian National Anthem?

Meet the most important Canadian you’ve probably never heard of: Calixa Lavallée. Swashbuckling and irreverent, he was a composer, performer, entrepreneur and educator. He left home in 1855 at 12 years old, worked as a blackface minstrel throughout the United States, fought in the American Civil War, produced operas, became a leading figure in American music, studied in Paris, tried and failed to create a Quebec national conservatory, and died in exile in the U.S.

And he wrote “O Canada.”

It Was Originally Written in French

The story behind the composition of the Canadian national anthem is a mystery to us because it represents a wound we constantly try to mend or hide: we were founded by French and English cultures in this country, to say nothing of the Indigen­ous peoples who were colonized. The reason no one can be certain of the English words to “O Canada” is that there are no English words, or at least there weren’t any when the song first appeared. “O Canada” wasn’t written in English for English Canadians—it was written in French for French Canadians.

The song premiered on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec’s national holiday, because it was commissioned by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society to be a chant national—a national anthem, exclusively for French Canada. All the English versions are either translations of the original or new words fitted to an existing melody. The story of Calixa Lavallée and of his anthem is a tale almost exclusively of French Canada.

Discover the fascinating story of how the provincial flowers of Canada were chosen.

“O Canada” in Context

To understand the Canadian national anthem is to return to the Canada of the last half of the 19th century, a nation in utero, bringing together old hatreds and novel political possibilities as culture faced culture, religion faced religion, economy faced economy. It was a time when forces of change on the North American continent were banging into each other. A waning British colonialism; an America weakened by its Civil War; a Canada both fearful and excited for its future; a Quebec torn by its past, its future and its present—this was the backdrop to the life of Calixa Lavallée.

When you add to that an artist of superior talent with a personality addicted to adventure, a mind clear and concise, and a temperament both calculating and wild, you have a first-rate tale—the story of a man who sat down at his piano in Quebec City in the spring of 1880 and stood up soon thereafter with a nation’s soul on a piece of paper in his hand.

Now that you know the origins of Canadian national anthem, find out how Canada got its name.

Excerpted from Song of a Nation, by Robert Harris. Copyright © 2018, by Robert Harris. Published by McLelland & Stewart, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

A recent study by researchers from Penn State, the University of California at San Diego, and Boston universities casts new light on the relationship between sexual satisfaction, vascular health, and memory performance. The study, published March 2023 in the peer-reviewed journal Gerontology, implies that maintaining a fulfilling sex life could serve as a secret shield against memory decline.

The research was steered by Riki Slayday, a doctoral candidate at Penn State, and Dr. Tyler Bell, a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California San Diego. Their team discovered that for men aged 56 to 68, even minor reductions in erectile function over a period of 12 years were linked to accelerated memory loss. This correlation persisted even after controlling for prominent risk factors for cognitive decline, such as major cardiovascular conditions and hypertension. The team also found that sexual satisfaction seemed to have a predictive value for memory loss.

Doctors Slayday and Bell took the time to unravel their findings for our readers.

For more wellness updates, sign up for the (free!) Reader’s Digest Health Report.

Understanding the connection

The study stands out for its unique focus on microvascular health—a key player in predicting how our cognitive abilities deteriorate with age. While most research has centered on the relationship between primary cardiovascular conditions and brain health, Slayday and Bell focused on smaller but nonetheless crucial vessels. Erectile function in men emerged as a sensitive barometer of vascular health and potentially cognitive (brain) health.

Ladies, you’re not left out of this narrative. While those with erectile function have been the focus thus far, the study authors pointed out that ongoing research is actively exploring how these findings apply to women. All under consideration are factors such as alterations in blood flow that result in decreased sexual arousal, hormonal changes linked to menopause, and generally reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction in women compared to men.

An early warning sign

The authors suggest that changes in sexual health could serve as early warning signs for future cognitive issues. Just as a dashboard warning light alerts drivers to possible car troubles, so too could shifts in sexual health prompt an investigation into cognitive wellness. Slayday and Bell urge individuals not to dismiss minor concerns, but to discuss them openly with physicians for early detection and intervention.

Here are 20 symptoms you should never ignore.

Linking sexual health and cognitive decline

This new study opens up a novel conversation linking sexual health and cognitive decline. Although much remains to be explored about this relationship, their findings emphasize the potential importance of sexual health as part of a broader understanding of cognitive wellness.

Further, the researchers highlight the impact of overall life satisfaction on cognitive function. Drawing from another study published in the journal International Psychogeriatrics, they note that a single-point increase in life satisfaction rating could translate to a 28% decrease in the risk of dementia five years later. This serves as a reminder that lifestyle factors, including excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking, depression, social isolation and lack of physical activity, can significantly influence our cognitive health.

Find out what booze really does to your body.

Let’s talk about sex: Promoting sexual health dialogue

Slayday and Bell’s research strongly emphasizes the need for open discussions about sexual health. They support the need for comprehensive sex education for adults, which can guide individuals in exploring ways to boost their sexual satisfaction. Unfortunately, such education is often lacking, leaving many adults unaware of the diverse strategies available to improve their sexual experiences.

In addition, instead of a simple yes-or-no question about erectile dysfunction, they advocate for recognizing subtle shifts in erectile function for early detection and effective intervention. According to the authors, understanding the subtle nuances in these changes can pave the way for better treatment.

This research suggests a fulfilling sex life isn’t just a source of pleasure—it might also play a significant role in preserving memory and mental clarity over time. As we continue to explore the connection between sexual health and cognitive decline, the need for open dialogues, comprehensive sex education, and early intervention becomes all the more pressing. While more research is undoubtedly needed to further illuminate the connection between sexual health and cognitive function, the pioneering work of these researchers makes it clear that the conversation has started—and it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.

Next, check out 13 secrets your urologist wants you to know.

Make a fire-starter from scratch

Dryer lint is flammable, which is why we’re urged to clean out the trap after each load of laundry. Collect it in a sealed jar to use as tinder the next time you start a fire in your backyard fire pit. For a self-contained fire starter, stuff cardboard toilet paper rolls with lint.

Use as mulch

You can add dryer lint as a mulch around potted plants as long as you’re not using dryer sheets, which may leave an unwanted chemical residue.

Prevent erosion

When spread out and dampened with water, dryer lint can form a barrier to protect soil from erosion. If you don’t like the look of soggy lint, use the lint as an under-layer and cover with decorative stones.

Discourage weeds

Just like a thick layer of lint can help prevent erosion, a base of dryer lint can prevent weeds as well. Use it as a substitute for landscape fabric and top with a decorative mulch.

Soak up spills

Uses for lint extend to the garage, as well! Keep a jar of dryer lint handy for when you need to soak up oil spills.

Add to compost

Lint from natural fibres like cotton and wool is biodegradable, so you can add it to the compost pile as a source of carbon.

Line garden containers

Line the bottom of a plant pot with dryer lint to keep soil from spilling out the drainage hole. The lint layer will also act as a blotter, soaking up extra moisture and making it available for the roots later. Note: This container gardening tip is not recommended for cacti, succulents and other plants that like soil on the dry side.

Oil down tools

Use a clump of dryer lint to apply linseed oil to wooden-handle tools to keep them from cracking, and to metal parts (after cleaning) to keep them from rusting. Then toss the lint in the trash.

Now that you’re familiar with these uses for lint, check out 20 gardening tips that’ll save you time, money and effort.

Despite our international reputation as the Great White North, Canada can get pretty darned hot. Our country’s vast geography and diverse weather systems create some unique and unexpected local climates—some with summer heat that beats destinations much further south. Meanwhile, other communities have winters so balmy they barely get snow.

The Hottest Place in Canada

Canada doesn’t necessarily get warmer the further south you go—the hottest city (by average summertime high temperatures) actually lies above the 50th parallel. Kamloops, British Columbia, sits in the Thompson Valley about four hours’ drive northeast of Vancouver, and its desert-like landscape sees more days over 30 degrees Celsius than any other Canadian city. July daytime temperatures average a high of 29 degrees, with humidity dropping to a fairly parched 20 percent, and 303 mean monthly sunshine hours (about the same as Honolulu, Hawaii).

Known for its mountain biking trails and hoodoos—otherworldly rock formations caused by millions of years of erosion—Kamloops has its western neighbours, the Rocky Mountains, to thank for its hot, semi-arid climate. The city’s rain shadow location means that it gets significantly less precipitation than the soggy Pacific coast. In a phenomenon called orographic lift, prevailing winds from the sea get pushed upwards by mountain ranges, where moisture condenses into rain clouds (the same effect responsible for Canada’s wettest place, Hucuktlis Lake). By the time winds pass the peak, most if not all of the humidity is lost, and temperatures on the downslope can be up to 14 degrees warmer. That’s why Kamloops—with its sagebrush, rattlesnakes and occasional tumbleweeds—looks and feels similar to parts of Nevada, Utah and Idaho.

The B.C. interior’s unique climate conditions can also make summer heat waves deadly—for instance in 2021, when a “heat dome” caused by high atmospheric pressure created sweltering conditions across the western half of North America. Canada’s highest-ever temperature—an unbelievable 49.6 degrees Celsius—was in June 2021 in Lytton, B.C., a tiny hamlet two hours west of Kamloops. Soon after, a devastating wildfire swept through the town, and most of the 250 residents had just minutes to grab what they could and evacuate.

Kamloops itself registered a no-less-scorching record high of 47.3 degrees during the heat wave, which killed 600 people across B.C. Global warming means that record may be beaten again sooner than we’d like—by 2051, the number of hot days over 30 degrees could more than double in Kamloops, from an average of 27 days a year to 67, according to the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.

Read the terrifying tale of the worst forest fire in Canadian history.

The Warmest Place in Canada Year-Round

Kamloops may make you melt in summer, but that doesn’t mean its winters are warm. In fact, its average lowest annual temperature is -27 degrees, while the record coldest was set in 1950 at a frigid -38.3 degrees Celsius. For a more temperate getaway, you’ll want to head to Victoria, B.C., Canada’s mildest climate—a sub-Mediterranean zone at the southern tip of Vancouver Island where the mercury rarely falls below zero. In fact, lemon and olive trees grow outdoors just north of the city.

Victoria lies further north than snowier cities like Ottawa, Quebec City, and Minneapolis, but its average winter lows are kept in the single digits by warm ocean currents from the Pacific combined with near-constant offshore winds, which provide a buffer against temperature extremes. Snow and ice are so rare that even in January, you’ll spot residents fishing, sailing and golfing—far more fun than shovelling your driveway.

The only downside to Victoria’s winter is the rain—nearly two-thirds of the city’s 23 inches of annual precipitation falls from November to March. That’s nothing compared to the rest of Vancouver Island, however, which typically sees three times that amount (or more). Summers in Victoria are cool and relatively dry, thanks to the coastal mountains to the west, and daily high temperatures average in the low 20s in July and August. At night, it’s chilly enough for a jacket, with lows around 12 degrees.

Now that you know the warmest place in Canada, read up on the worst natural disasters in Canadian history.

In recent years, the safety of oxybenzone, a chemical widely used in sunscreens sold in North America (it’s also permitted in Europe but at a lower percentage), has been in question. Like other chemical UV filters, oxybenzone absorbs UV rays and releases them as heat. This chemical reaction stops ultraviolet radiation from reaching skin cells and causing the DNA damage that can end up causing skin cancer.

A small 2019 study published in JAMA found evidence that oxybenzone is absorbed into the blood stream, leading to concerns about its impact on our hormone levels. It has also been detected in breast milk. Due to concerns about higher absorption in children, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises against using sunscreen with oxybenzone on kids, if possible.

The Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based activist organization that monitors chemical safety, has called for a ban on the ingredient, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada consider sunscreens with oxybenzone safe. Some experts agree that a ban is premature.

“The jury is still out,” says Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, a New York dermatologist and president of the Skin Cancer Foundation. “Just because you’re absorbing the chemical doesn’t mean it’s dangerous.” More research is needed.

But it is a risk to coral reefs. Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands have banned the sale of sunscreens with oxybenzone as well as another common ingredient, octinoxate. In a 2022 study published in Science, U.S. researchers found that sea anemones, which are similar to coral, metabolize oxybenzone into a phototoxin. Sunlight then activates its free radicals, bleaching and killing corals.

Some companies have phased out the use of oxybenzone, and many big brands, including Aveeno and Coppertone, offer oxybenzone-free sunscreen options. For anyone who is pregnant, is breastfeeding or simply wants to avoid these chemical filters, Sarnoff recommends mineral sunscreens, which contain physical barriers such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of switching to oxybenzone-free sunscreen, find out the skin cancer symptoms to watch out for.

There’s one patient that SarahRose Black still thinks about. Back in 2019, the nursing team in the palliative care unit at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre asked if she could reach out to a patient who had been there for about a week. The man was struggling, and unwilling to engage with staff or be part of any activities. “They told me, ‘He’s short and grumpy with us, and we wonder if you might have an in.’”

Black isn’t a doctor or a nurse. Since 2013 she has played an important role for patients as Princess Margaret’s on-staff music therapist. On any given day, she might see one person who’s anxious about an upcoming procedure, another who’s undergoing chemo and in need of a soothing moment. Or, like the man in the palliative care unit, it might be someone who doesn’t yet know they need her.

So, on a wintery Wednesday afternoon, Black approached the patient’s room and introduced herself. She asked if she could sit, and offered to play some music. In an effort to convince him, she said, “If you don’t like it, you can tell me to leave,’” she recalls.

After some gentle urging, the 70-something man, who had lung cancer, told her a few classical composers he liked and then turned away to look out the window. But as she started to play one of his favourites, Bach, on her portable keyboard, a change came over him. He unfolded his arms, turned toward Black and started to cry.

She stopped playing. “Do you want me to continue?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he said through tears.

“It was as if the music went places that nothing else could,” recalls Black. “He shared with me afterward that he’d been holding in so much and had been unable to talk about anything—but the music showed up at a moment when it felt like a hug.”

Anyone who has felt that spark of joy when a favourite song comes on the radio at just the right moment—or wept along with a singer who is expressing heartache—will understand the emotional resonance of music. But now, a growing body of scientific evidence is actually demonstrating that music can be medicine, too. Read on to discover the many health benefits of music therapy.

The benefits of music therapy

In a review of 400 research papers looking into the neurochemistry of music, Daniel Levitin, a psychologist and neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, found that playing and listening to music had clear mental and physical health benefits, including improving our immune systems and reducing stress levels.

One 2007 study from a team of Spanish researchers found that listening to music before surgery had the same effect in reducing preoperative anxiety as taking Valium—an important finding, as anxiety before a major surgery can affect post-operative pain and recovery time. Another Spanish study, conducted in 2018 in the palliative care unit of Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar, found that patients participating in a music-therapy program experienced significant decreases in tiredness, anxiety and breathing difficulties, as well as an increase in feelings of well-being.

Even major health-care institutions are embracing music therapy on a wide scale. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. introduced significant funding—$20 million—to support research projects in music therapy and neuroscience.

A music-therapy session can be as unique as an individual patient’s needs on a given day. With Black, who also sings, that inevitably involves the cart of instruments she travels with (“I’m pretty much a one-woman band,” she jokes). Aside from the keyboard, to create rhythms and texture she has other instruments such as a guitar, tambourine, singing bowls and more. She also brings recording equipment and an iPad, to supply song lyrics.

If a patient loves classical music, she’ll play it. Maybe it’s folk or jazz. She did a Bob Marley tune for a man’s assisted-dying process. “One woman spoke no English, but she taught me a Farsi folk song, and we had this wonderful exchange,” says Black. “She’d sing a line, I’d sing it back, and we were singing this beautiful song together.”

She’s gentle in her approach with patients. “I make it very clear that preexisting musical experience or training isn’t required to participate,” she says. “If I were to ask, ‘What kind of music do you like?’ that might be a difficult question to answer. Instead I ask what they want to feel, which is an easier question to answer.”

If the goal is pain management, Black might match the pace of her playing with the patient’s breathing, and then gradually slow the music. This process, called “entrainment,” can help slow the breath, too, and has a calming effect.

Or a session might be about helping a patient process the emotions stemming from what they are going through. It may even be about connecting with loved ones who are in the room with them. “Sometimes the patient says, ‘I’m having such a profound experience. I have no words,’” she says. “We know from so many wonderful brain studies that music can trigger memories and touch parts of the brain that other mediums cannot.”

Here are 10 mental health podcasts worth adding to your playlist.

Music therapy programs

Once a week Carol Cameron hops on Zoom from her home in Madison, Wisconsin. She’ll be joined by a dozen or so other participants, all following along as music therapist Jason Armstrong Baker leads them through drumming exercises—sometimes clapping their hands in a distinct rhythm he’s laid out for them, sometimes tapping on their own bodies.

Like everyone taking part in the session, Cameron, 71, has Parkinson’s disease, and this drumming circle—known as Rx 4 Rhythm—is designed to help strengthen her coordination. “My tremor is on my left side, so learning things with my left hand is difficult,” she says. “But it’s really good to get this regular rhythm going—it gives you a feeling of overcoming a problem.”

Rx 4 Rhythm is just one of the programs offered at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine in Baltimore. The research institution is the brainchild of Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, a violin player and former member of the Penn Symphony Orchestra in Philadelphia. Today, he is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. The centre provides music therapy and more, Pantelyat explains. They’re taking music into the “precision medicine” realm.

Applying that kind of treatment to movement disorders is relatively new; previously, it was mainly the domain of cancer therapies. “There’s a revolution in oncology and cancer research—more people are being cured, and much of it can be attributed to a very targeted precision treatment that really is individualized for the patients,” he explains. “Just listening to music activates many regions of the brain simultaneously.”

He adds that there is an understanding in the field of music medicine that there can be tailored interventions using music that a person actually likes, that speaks to them culturally, personally, autobiographically.

One study from the Center for Music and Medicine followed a choir composed of Parkinson’s patients (called the “Parkinsonics”) to learn how singing might impact the speaking voice of those patients. After 12 weeks, the singers’ speaking volumes—which often fade as Parkinson’s progresses—grew demonstrably stronger. The Rx 4 Rhythm drumming circle, meanwhile, came out of a 2015 study that showed that Parkinson’s patients had improved their ability to walk after six weeks of drumming practice.

The centre’s blueprint is to continue to fund these musically oriented groups, even after the studies have wrapped up. “Patients in the Parkinsonics told us that they didn’t want to stop singing when the study was over,” says Pantelyat. The centre now funds a professional choir instructor, a music therapist and a social worker to help the choir members carry on with their classes, which rolled onto Zoom during the pandemic.

And while sessions at the centre do have therapeutic goals—working on coordination, say, or breathing techniques for anxiety management—there’s a community-building element to the groups, too. Kerry Devlin is the centre’s senior music therapist and runs an online support group for people with a broad range of neurological disorders, along with their care partners—those people in patients’ lives, usually loved ones, who are supporting them through their illness.

“There can be folks who are experiencing really intensive symptoms, like a decline in their ability to verbally communicate,” says Devlin. Music, she notes, can sometimes help such patients find ways to respond again.“I’ve had the honour of making music with people, and all of a sudden they’re coming up with new words. It turns into this beautiful improvisational moment—and a care partner is saying, ‘I’ve never seen this happen.’”

It’s a powerful thing, she says, to witness someone find themselves again for a moment, and when a song is the vehicle for that shift.

Much of what Devlin does is designed to help patients feel like more than just cogs in the medical system. “Of course they want to come and receive medications and treatments, but they’re also a person,” she says. “It’s important when we’re thinking about holistic care to provide opportunities for patients to actually process the impact that a diagnosis is having on their lives.”

Music therapy for kids

Music can have a profound effect on helping sick children, too. Ruth Hunston is a music therapist in the “play department” at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, England. As the U.K.’s oldest children’s hospital, it sees more than 69,000 patients a year.

“When children are in the hospital, their worlds get much smaller,” says Hunston, who explains that her program, introduced in 2019, helps give young patients back some sense of control. “They’re having so many things done to them and around them, but this allows them to create something themselves.”

Extended time in pediatric care can also affect a child’s development, says Hunston. In light of that, much of her program is designed to help them progress. “I’ve had lots of infants who have sat up for the first time at the drums, because they’re just so motivated to play,” she says. “Or they start making sounds because I’m singing to them, and they want more.”

The parents also become part of the therapeutic process. “It’s not easy being in a hospital, and it’s not easy to leave your child there,” she says. “What’s really lovely is when you go in and you start to make music, and the children invite their parents to join. There’s this beautiful interaction between everyone, and sometimes I get to step back and just watch them play—to really laugh and have fun.”

Palliative care

At the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice in Hamilton, Ontario, music therapy has become an integral part of patient care in residential end-of-life settings. “The palliative journey isn’t really about someone dying,” says Doug Mattina, director of the hospice’s pediatric unit. “It’s about bringing the most joy. It’s providing the wrap-around care not only for the individual but for those impacted by it.”

Mattina himself experienced the music-therapy program when his father spent his last days at the hospice. “I remember when the music therapist said to him, ‘Bill, what kind of mood are we in today?’ And he said, ‘Today is time to dance,’” says Mattina.

He was so moved by the whole experience that he left a career in the foreign service to work full-time for the hospice. “Even though my father was feeling like crap, and we knew that we had days or hours left, me, my sister, my brother and my mom would dance around his bed. His favourite song for this was ‘Rasputin,’ and he would request high kicks from us as he clapped along. Sometimes he’d fall asleep as we danced.”

Sara Klinck directs the music-therapy program at the hospice, where, at a patient’s bedside, she might improvise a call-and-response song to help them open up about how they’re feeling that day, or help a resident write a song as a legacy for their family.

“We might also revisit songs that have personal significance for residents and families, as a way to communicate emotion to one another,” she says. “It can feel like a whole choir as visitors and family members join in. For some people, sometimes what’s hard to say is easier to sing.”

It could also mean fulfilling a lifelong goal before a patient passes away, as she did for someone with late-stage ALS. “He had very limited movement in his hands but had always wanted to play guitar,” says Klinck.

She brought in the instrument and laid it on his lap in bed. “He was able to put his hands on the strings and interact with them; often I moved the guitar, as well.” This music experience was something his family felt would be very meaningful to him.

Finding those moments is the skilled therapist’s role, but as SarahRose Black notes, people have been connecting with music for their whole lives—she is just helping them access it again at a time when they need it most.

“We have a heartbeat, so we have a drum inside us; we are wired to be musical people,” she says. She smiles softly as she reflects back on one patient, a man in his late 30s with late stage brain cancer.

“He said, ‘SarahRose, I have a lot of friends, and they’re great. They show up and they’re helpful, but they don’t really understand what’s going on here,’” she says. “He told me that the music is like a friend who ‘gets it.’”

Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of music therapy, find out how cold-water therapy could boost your health.

Onions are a staple ingredient that I habitually add to every recipe. They enhance almost everything, from homemade tomato sauce to chicken potpie to seasoned ground beef for tacos.

While the savoury flavours of an onion complement whatever dish I have in mind for dinner, this aromatic vegetable demands peeling, chopping and sauteing, often with watery eyes as a result. Though I use onions in my cooking daily, I still dread preparing them.

That’s why I’m so excited about this genius trick from TikTok! If you’re looking for the best way to dice an onion, minus the tears and any actual chopping, here’s what to do.

The best way to dice an onion (No chopping, no tears)

TikTok user @scubeskitchen doesn’t chop his onions with the usual method. In fact, he doesn’t use a knife at all! Instead, he uses resealable plastic bags and a meat tenderizer. Take a look:

@scubeskitchenOnion hack that will change your life. #onions #onionhack #kitchenhacks #fyp♬ Morning Routine – Sunday Morning Jazz

To dice an onion without a knife, you’ll need:

• 1 small resealable plastic bag
• 1 large resealable plastic bag
• Meat tenderizer

The first thing you’ll need to do is place your onion—whole and unpeeled—in the smaller zip-top plastic bag, but don’t seal it. Then, place it into the large zip-top bag, and don’t seal that either—you don’t want to trap air inside risking a loud pop. (Check out these other cooking hacks you’ll wish you’d known sooner.)

With the onion and both bags in place, grab your meat tenderizer and start smashing the onion into pieces. After a few minutes, the skin of the onion will separate in large pieces that you can simply remove from the bag, and you’ll be left with a perfectly diced onion.

Next, check out our all-time favourite kitchen hacks.